Suspect denies weapon possession in break-in case involving former After School member Nana

A suspect accused of breaking into the home of former girl group After School member Nana claimed in court that Nana was the first to brandish a weapon, flatly denying that he had carried a bladed weapon during the incident.

On February 20th KST, the Criminal Division 1 of the Namyangju Branch of the Uijeongbu District Court, presided over by Judge Kim Guk Sik, held the first trial for A (34), who was indicted on charges of attempted robbery resulting in injury. Prosecutors allege that A broke into Nana’s home while armed with a weapon and attempted to commit robbery, but failed.

According to the indictment, at approximately 5:38 AM on November 15th last year, A allegedly entered Nana’s residence in Acheon-dong, Guri, Gyeonggi Province, threatened Nana and her mother, and demanded money. He was reportedly subdued by Nana and her mother, resulting in an attempted offense.

Nana and her mother submitted medical certificates stating that they sustained injuries requiring 33 days and 31 days of treatment, respectively, due to the incident.

During the trial, A’s legal counsel acknowledged the unlawful entry but argued that the intent was simple theft rather than robbery. The defense also denied allegations that A strangled Nana’s mother or assaulted either victim, claiming instead that A was “unilaterally beaten by Nana.”

The defense further asserted that Nana’s reported 33-day injury was not a defensive wound inflicted by the defendant but rather an offensive injury. They requested that the National Forensic Service conduct fingerprint analysis on the seized weapon and its case to determine whether the defendant’s fingerprints were present.

A personally stated that he committed the crime after learning through online searches that Acheon-dong was home to wealthy individuals, including celebrities, but insisted that he did not bring a weapon with him. He denied strangling Nana’s mother, explaining that he merely held her by the shoulder to calm her down after she became startled and began screaming and pushing him.

He further claimed that while Nana’s mother had calmed down, Nana suddenly rushed out wielding a weapon and swung it at him. He said a physical struggle followed, but maintained that he was acting defensively. He broadly denied responsibility for the injuries sustained by Nana and her mother.

Meanwhile, the defense requested that the physician who issued Nana’s injury diagnosis be called as a witness to verify its validity. However, the court expressed concerns that oral testimony from a doctor would be difficult to consider as objective evidence and asked the defense to reconsider the request.

The next hearing is scheduled to take place on March 10th at the same court.